Biography

Ruth Ford

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Her parents, Mr. & Mrs. C. N. Ford, managed the Tennessee Hotel in Clarksville, Tennessee, in 1943. At that time, she reported to the local newspaper in Clarksville that she had a daughter named Shelley, age 2. Also, Orson Welles is her godfather. Prior to her Hollywood experience, she was in Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre plays before he left for the coast and was playing summer stock when noticed by a Hollywood playwright. He set Columbia Pictures on her trail to sign her up and since that time she has been with them and Warner Brothers. She posed for Harpers' Magazine and for the Paris and London issues of "Vogue" and "Harpers"; also appeared in "Town and Country" and "Mademoiselle." She even appeared in the local newspaper, "The Leaf-Chronicle" showing her modeling a pair of black stockings. She said that "(her) Mother and Daddy noticed it by chance and the next day it was on the front page."
- IMDb mini biography by: Tim Pulley

She and her husband, Zachary Scott, were arrested for disturbing the peace in New Orleans because they were caught drinking in a tavern in violation of racial segregation laws. They were acquitted when her husband explained that they went there to search for talent and that some black soldiers had invited them to drink with them. He explained that he was proud to drink with any soldier.
Her mother-in-law, Sally Lee Scott, died November 1983 at 95. She left everything to be divided by her 3 children. Her daughter and step-daughter split her late husband's share. Ford tried to sue for a share of it for herself, but didn't have enough money for a lawyer.
Her apartment in the Dakota in Manhattan became a salon for writers, artists, and musicians. Visitors included Edward Albee, Truman Capote, and Tennessee Williams.
Her husband, Zachary Scott, died penniless except for the 100,000 insurance policy that he left her.
Left her entire estate valued at around 10 million dollars to her butler. It included two apartments in New York and an impressive art collection.

Oh, Errol Flynn, I've never had the yen. Victor Mature? Don't know him well but believe Dorothy Parker, a good friend of mine, summed it up well when she said, "He acts as though his body has gone to his head!" My favorite actor of course is Orson Welles. He's wonderful, magnificent, a darling, and I adore him. I like Humphrey Bogart, too. He's just as nice as he can be and looks just the same all the time. Ingrid Bergman? She's just as beautiful and natural off the screen as she is on and is admired by everyone. But one of the nicest people in Hollywood is William Faulkner, who I had known in Mississippi when I was getting my Masters Degree in Philosophy at the University there.

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